Ear and neck muff



the ears of the wearer.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LUTHER w. BALLARD, or ALLIANCE, orno.

EAR AND NECK IVlUFF.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 548,738, dated October29, 1895.

Application filed January '7, 1895- Serial No. 534,023- (No model.)

To all whom it may concern/.-

Be it known that I, LUTHER'W. BALLARD, a citizen of the United States,residing at Alliance, in the county of Stark and State of Ohio, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Ear and Neck Mufis; andI do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact.description of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings,making a part of this specification, and to the letters of referencemarked thereon, in which Figure 1 is a view showing myimprovementplacedin proper position for use. Fig. 2 is a detached view of the frame orskeleton. Fig. 3 is a view showing the muff folded.

The present invention has relation to ear and neck muffs; and itconsists in the novel construction hereinafter described, andparticularly pointed out in the claim.

In the accompanying drawings, A represents the frame or skeleton, whichwhen extended is substantially of the form shown in Fig. 2, and ispreferably formed of a single piece of wire. To the frame or skeleton Ais attached the cloth or felt material B, which material is stitched soas to properly cover the frame and conceal the wire and at the same timehold the cloth in an extended position, substantially as illustrated inFig. 1.

The frame A is provided with the forward and upward extended curves a,which are so formed and located that when the frame has been properlycovered a portion of the cloth or felt Will be extended forward, so asto cover The lower portion of the frame or skeleton A is provided withthe curves 1), which are so located that they will come partially aroundthe neck.

It will be understood that by my peculiar formation of the frame orskeleton A the muif when finished will cover the ears and the back partof the neck. For the purpose of providing muffs that can be fitted todifferent persons the frame or skeleton A should be formed ofspring-wire, and the wire should be of such material that it willnormally remain in the position bent to fit the placed.

quickly attached and detached, and when attached it will not becomeaccidentally dis- By my peculiar arrangement the front of the neck isnot covered, thereby leaving the throat without close covering, which is'inj urious, inasmuch as the wearer is more liable to throat trouble ifthe neck is closely covered.

With the elasticity of the frame or skeleton and the flexibility of thecloth or felt material the ears and neck will be closely covered, or, inother words, the muff proper will fit closely upon the neck and ears, asillustrated in Fig. 1.

The back part of the muff will be extended downward upon the neck, sothat an overcoat eollar will overlap the back part of the muff.

When it is desired to carry the muff in a pocket, it may be foldedsubstantially as illustrated in Fig. 3 and placed in a receptacle, whichreceptacle is formed of a size and shape to properly hold the muff whenin a folded condition.

The cloth or felt material B is attached to the frame by lapping aportion over the wire of the frame, and two thicknesses of material maybe employed and the thicknesses stitched together close to the inneredges of the wire frame A. its rear portion so as to conform with theback part of the head and the back part of the neck, the lower member ofthe frame conforming to the neck and the upper member conforming to theshape of the head. v

Having fully described my invention, what The frame is bent upon I claimas new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

An ear and neck muff, corIprismgthe skeleton spring-wire frame A, andthe'coven B,

said frame consisting of the upper and lower portions, conforming withthe shape of the head and neck of the wearer, and the curved sideportions connecting the front ends of the upper and lower portions,substantially as and for the purpose specified.

In testimony that I claim the above I have hereunto subscribed my namein the presence of two witnesses.

LUTHER W. BALLARD.

Witnesses:

A. S. MCDONALD, C. E. FORDING.

